Twentysomething Kat Reid is loving life as an in-demand Hollywood makeup artist. She has absolutely no interest in rock ’n’ roll, but in order to pay the mortgage, she agrees to work on the set of a rock video for the world-famous rockers known as Bad Habit…which brings her face-to-face with Nico Nyx, lead singer of Bad Habit and Adonis in the flesh.

However, the fiercely independent Kat isn’t impressed by the hard-living, womanizing rock star. But when Nico’s model girlfriend shows up to the set drunk and Kat is tapped to replace her as the video’s sexy bride, her combustible chemistry with Nico suddenly threatens to consume the set. Nico feels it, too—and becomes determined to win Kat over, body and soul. Yet behind his rock god swagger, Nico hides a dark secret. Can he rock Kat’s world forever, or will he just break her heart?

“Some good things are free,” I whispered, staring into his eyes.

“Yeah? Name one.”

I bit my lip. Heat rose in my cheeks. Nico didn’t miss it, but he didn’t comment on it, instead stroking a thumb over the flame on my skin, waiting.

I swallowed, deciding to be brave. “Love.”

His eyes flashed. The muscle in his jaw flexed. He was quiet long enough for me to want to slink away into a corner and curl into a tiny little ball. But then he closed his eyes just longer than a blink, shaking his head.

“Baby, that’s the costliest thing of all.”

After an awkward moment, I said, “Excuse me, Debbie Downer, I was wondering if you could find Nico for me?” When he just looked at me, silent and smoldering, I prompted, “You know, the grand romantic gestures guy? The gold jewelry guy? The lavender roses guy? The unremorseful stalker? Any of this ringing a bell?”

He stared deep into my eyes. The depth of emotion I saw there took my breath away. “What’s more romantic, Kat? Fallin’ in love because you don’t know any better . . . or fallin’ in love, knowin’ it’s gonna ruin you, knowin’ it’s gonna rip out your fuckin’ heart and smash you into a million little pieces, but doin’ it anyway, because you’d rather pay the price and be ripped and smashed forever then never get a taste of it at all?”

My lips parted. A funny little noise escaped my mouth. The edges of everything grew fuzzy, because of the water welling in my eyes. “I’m not going to ruin you,” I promised in a vehement whisper.

His lips curved to a sad smile. “Yeah, you are. You already have. Just the way you’re lookin’ at me right now has ruined me for any other woman.” His quicksilver eyes grew intense. “And I’m gonna make damn sure I ruin you for any other man.”

I felt the kiss he gave me all the way to my toes. It was hungry—no, it was devouring. I clung to him, feeling what little reason I had left regarding this relationship slipping away.

Because even if he was right, even if we were destined to ruin one another, I didn’t want to stop. In my heart of hearts, I didn’t care what happened in all my tomorrows, as long as I could have this, right now. His kiss and his smile and the fever that burned so brightly between us.

The fever that might just leave a smoking path of destruction in its wake.

J.T. Geissinger is an award-winning author of paranormal and contemporary romance featuring dark and twisted plots, kick-ass heroines, and alpha heroes whose hearts are even bigger than their muscles. An entrepreneur since she began hand-addressing envelopes for a local beauty pageant when she was 14, she has owned businesses as diverse as a temporary employment agency to a flower shop. It wasn’t until hitting a significant birthday that she became motivated to realize her life-long dream of writing a novel.